Topic: Someone Just tried To Jack my Bike

[Col Casco]

"A few blocks away is a Charter School, all minorities, the area is surrounded by drug dealers and gangs. They have just won an award for having among the top reading scores in the State. The building is clean, the kids are clean. The difference is the Teachers care, which makes the kids care. These kids will break the welfare cycle."

Are you sure its the teachers and not the fact that Charter schools pick their students?  How many kids at that charter school have an IEP?  You don't have to answer, I already know it's none.  Charter schools are great at providing services to kids in the inner city that meet specific educational requirements.  Unfortunately the public schools cannot pick our students.  Trust me when I tell you that inner city teachers care about their students just as much as teachers in charter or magnet schools.

Scott

I am aware of Charter Schools as I served three terms as a Trustee two of them as VP of a suburban school district. I have no illusions about public education and the people in charge of it. These Charters are not private, they are public and they take all students up to their enrollment capacity. These Charters don't get mired in the "traditional" model, they are usually run by people who realize how incompetent our public schools have become.
 

Be careful tagging public schools as incompetent, or saying that public school teachers don't care.  My wife is a teacher in a public high school here in Minneapolis and her school (one of two in the 'bad' part of the city) was voted as one of the top high schools in the country a few years ago.  They've had consistently high test scores, and very high numbers of students going on to post-secondary institutions, all with one of the highest rates of poverty (measured by enrollment in free/reduced cost lunch programs) and a student body that is mostly minority.  Their success is based on the fact that the staff at the school (from administration down to janitorial) cares.  They care not just about the kids (I think that's universal - at least if you poll teachers), but about doing their jobs well and constantly improving.

[BobbyR]

"A few blocks away is a Charter School, all minorities, the area is surrounded by drug dealers and gangs. They have just won an award for having among the top reading scores in the State. The building is clean, the kids are clean. The difference is the Teachers care, which makes the kids care. These kids will break the welfare cycle."

Are you sure its the teachers and not the fact that Charter schools pick their students?  How many kids at that charter school have an IEP?  You don't have to answer, I already know it's none.  Charter schools are great at providing services to kids in the inner city that meet specific educational requirements.  Unfortunately the public schools cannot pick our students.  Trust me when I tell you that inner city teachers care about their students just as much as teachers in charter or magnet schools.

Scott

I am aware of Charter Schools as I served three terms as a Trustee two of them as VP of a suburban school district. I have no illusions about public education and the people in charge of it. These Charters are not private, they are public and they take all students up to their enrollment capacity. These Charters don't get mired in the "traditional" model, they are usually run by people who realize how incompetent our public schools have become.
 

Be careful tagging public schools as incompetent, or saying that public school teachers don't care.  My wife is a teacher in a public high school here in Minneapolis and her school (one of two in the 'bad' part of the city) was voted as one of the top high schools in the country a few years ago.  They've had consistently high test scores, and very high numbers of students going on to post-secondary institutions, all with one of the highest rates of poverty (measured by enrollment in free/reduced cost lunch programs) and a student body that is mostly minority.  Their success is based on the fact that the staff at the school (from administration down to janitorial) cares.  They care not just about the kids (I think that's universal - at least if you poll teachers), but about doing their jobs well and constantly improving.

Well they are blessed. That is not what I find to be universal. If you sat across the table during a union contract negotiation you may have a different view.

[Col Casco]

"A few blocks away is a Charter School, all minorities, the area is surrounded by drug dealers and gangs. They have just won an award for having among the top reading scores in the State. The building is clean, the kids are clean. The difference is the Teachers care, which makes the kids care. These kids will break the welfare cycle."

Are you sure its the teachers and not the fact that Charter schools pick their students?  How many kids at that charter school have an IEP?  You don't have to answer, I already know it's none.  Charter schools are great at providing services to kids in the inner city that meet specific educational requirements.  Unfortunately the public schools cannot pick our students.  Trust me when I tell you that inner city teachers care about their students just as much as teachers in charter or magnet schools.

Scott

I am aware of Charter Schools as I served three terms as a Trustee two of them as VP of a suburban school district. I have no illusions about public education and the people in charge of it. These Charters are not private, they are public and they take all students up to their enrollment capacity. These Charters don't get mired in the "traditional" model, they are usually run by people who realize how incompetent our public schools have become.
 

Be careful tagging public schools as incompetent, or saying that public school teachers don't care.  My wife is a teacher in a public high school here in Minneapolis and her school (one of two in the 'bad' part of the city) was voted as one of the top high schools in the country a few years ago.  They've had consistently high test scores, and very high numbers of students going on to post-secondary institutions, all with one of the highest rates of poverty (measured by enrollment in free/reduced cost lunch programs) and a student body that is mostly minority.  Their success is based on the fact that the staff at the school (from administration down to janitorial) cares.  They care not just about the kids (I think that's universal - at least if you poll teachers), but about doing their jobs well and constantly improving.

Well they are blessed. That is not what I find to be universal. If you sat across the table during a union contract negotiation you may have a different view.

Are you saying that negotiators for the teachers union proclaim the teachers' hatred of students, or that they're difficult, bull-headed, seemingly uncaring union negotiators?

[BobbyR]

They were the Teachers. In public they talk about nothing but the kids. In closed sessions the tune changes. BTW we are a high wealth district and five years ago they had to squeek by on a paltry $115K + benefits a year for 180 days work per year, now they are scraping by on $125K. I have no idea of what goes on in Minn, but in the NYC Metro it sucks.

[asom]

My mother is a special ed teacher with her masters and 30 years tenior.  She makes about 1/5 that BobbyR.

[bistromath]

They were the Teachers. In public they talk about nothing but the kids. In closed sessions the tune changes. BTW we are a high wealth district and five years ago they had to squeek by on a paltry $115K + benefits a year for 180 days work per year, now they are scraping by on $125K. I have no idea of what goes on in Minn, but in the NYC Metro it sucks.

Sorry man, that's full of crap.

http://jd2718.wordpress.com/the-new-uft-contract/new-uft-nyc-doe-teacher-pay-scale-salary-charts/
http://print.nycenet.edu/NR/rdonlyres/EDDB658C-BE7F-4314-85C0-03F5A00B8A0B/0/salary.pdf

[Henning]

Respect for what you're saying here, greasy j. If there was a Biker of the Month award, rather than Bike of the Month, you would be getting my vote.

[BobbyR]

They were the Teachers. In public they talk about nothing but the kids. In closed sessions the tune changes. BTW we are a high wealth district and five years ago they had to squeek by on a paltry $115K + benefits a year for 180 days work per year, now they are scraping by on $125K. I have no idea of what goes on in Minn, but in the NYC Metro it sucks.

Sorry man, that's full of crap.

http://jd2718.wordpress.com/the-new-uft-contract/new-uft-nyc-doe-teacher-pay-scale-salary-charts/
http://print.nycenet.edu/NR/rdonlyres/EDDB658C-BE7F-4314-85C0-03F5A00B8A0B/0/salary.pdf

I am gonna cut you a break and go back to 2005 the timefarme I mentioned. Read this from the NY Times and weep and apologies are not necessary.
Here is just a taste if you are pressed for time:

IN Westchester, the study found 1,074 teachers - 1 of every 9 - who made more than $100,000 in the 2003-04 school year, the most recent for which data are available. (That total excludes Yonkers, whose teachers have worked without a contract for the last two years. The state does not collect salary data in districts where salary issues remain unresolved.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/nyregion/05weteac.html

[bistromath]

I am gonna cut you a break and go back to 2005 the timefarme I mentioned. Read this from the NY Times and weep and apologies are not necessary.
Here is just a taste if you are pressed for time:

IN Westchester, the study found 1,074 teachers - 1 of every 9 - who made more than $100,000 in the 2003-04 school year, the most recent for which data are available. (That total excludes Yonkers, whose teachers have worked without a contract for the last two years. The state does not collect salary data in districts where salary issues remain unresolved.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/05/nyregion/05weteac.html

I don't want to get into a really off-topic argument, but 1 in 9 is by definition the exception, not the rule. The 1 in 9 teachers making 100K+ had to have 20+ years of experience and Master's degrees or Ph.Ds in order to qualify for that bracket. After that much experience and that much education, I'd expect to make that much, too, especially given the cost of living in Westchester County -- hardly an affordable location. The teachers I know work harder for less pay than anyone else I have ever met. Dedicated teachers are a gift we desperately need, and complaining about their cost exacerbates the problem: if you don't pay people competitive salaries to teach, you will find only incompetent people are willing to teach.

[Stev-o]

Thought this thread was about his bike getting jacked??!!??

[BLUE71TURBO]

Thought this thread was about his bike getting jacked??!!??

  I was just gonna say the same thing. It's amazing how fast the subject changes from the original theme to something way off topic.  Bottom line..... the original poster was a complete dumba$$ for leaving his keys in the ignition. There's plenty of way's to secure your motorcycle, use them no matter where you are. Thief's are opportunist's and will definitly use every method available to them if given a chance.   

[scottly]

The original poster left the key in his bike mere feet from his open front door; that does not qualify him as a "complete dumba$$" He should be applauded for telling us all what happened to him, a warning to keep our guard up!!

[BobbyR]

Back on track. Here is a decent article on securing your bike:

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/anti_theft_strategies/index.html